Axe Developer Hub vs WAVE
Axe Developer Hub
deque.com
WAVE
wave.webaim.orgSide by side
| Figure | Axe Developer Hub | WAVE |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $10/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 13 |
| Spec score · Accessibility Testing Software | 8.8 (#16) | 9.4 (#2) |
| CI/CD integration | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Headquarters | Herndon, Virginia, United States | Logan, Utah, United States |
Plans
Axe Developer Hub
- FreeFree
- Paid (Axe DevTools for Web subscription)Priced on request
WAVE
- Subscription API — 250–999 credits$10 a month
- Subscription API — 1,000–9,999 creditsPrice not published
- Subscription API — 10,000+ creditsPrice not published
- Stand-alone API — Basic$4,000 a year
- Stand-alone API — Expanded$8,000 a year
- Stand-alone API — Unlimited$12,000 a year
- Free API creditsFree
- API credits 10000+$0.03, paid once
- API credits 1000-9999$0.03, paid once
- API credits 250-999$0.04, paid once
In their own words
Axe Developer Hub
Axe Developer Hub adds automated accessibility checks to end-to-end tests and produces reports with deduplicated findings, remediation guidance, and progress tracking. It covers WCAG 2.2 and supports Selenium-based Java tests as well as JavaScript or TypeScript frameworks including Cypress, Playwright, Puppeteer, and WebdriverIO. Teams can standardize rules and selectively enable or pause checks. In CI/CD workflows, checks can identify new issues and block pull requests when problems arise. Integrations include GitHub Actions, GitLab, CircleCI, Jenkins, and Bitbucket. The Hub is available as SaaS or on premises; the on-premise option keeps data on customer servers, but the website, user management, and Axe Watcher are not supported there. Projects have member and admin roles. The product is included in the Axe DevTools for Web bundle and is not sold separately. Its free plan is free with one API key; the paid bundle’s pricing is on request and includes unlimited API keys per licensed subscriber.
WAVE
WAVE is a web accessibility tool that identifies many accessibility and WCAG errors and provides tools for human evaluation of web content. Its browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge can examine password-protected, locally stored, and highly dynamic pages. The service supports page scans, scheduled site audits, intranet pages with most authentication types, and custom viewport sizes for checking responsive breakpoints. Stand-alone tools can integrate with continuous-integration systems including Selenium and Puppeteer. The API returns JSON or XML; basic analysis uses one credit, while advanced features may use two or three. New accounts receive 100 free API credits. Subscription API access has a 250-credit minimum purchase for $10 a month. Stand-alone API licenses cost $4,000 a year for Basic, $8,000 a year for Expanded, and $12,000 a year for Unlimited. The stand-alone API runs on Linux, Mac, or Windows web servers with PHP and Node installed; minimum requirements are 1 CPU, 1 GB memory, and 100 MB storage.